Wednesday Fulham Stuff (28/01/15)...

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Bradford chief tips another famous FA Cup upset

Bradford co-chairman Mark Lawn is backing his FA Cup heroes to beat either Sunderland or Fulham in the competition's fifth round.

Last night's draw pitched Chelsea's unlikely conquerors into a home tie with either Gus Poyet's Premier League Black Cats or Kit Symons' Championship side, who are due to replay next week after a 0-0 draw on Saturday.

While most Bradford fans were hoping for a tie with Arsenal or Manchester United, a home clash will be welcomed and Lawn is of the opinion that neither Sunderland nor Fulham will fancy the trip to West Yorkshire on the weekend of February 14/15.

"We're at home. I think we can win at home," he said. "They won't want to come down here and get the fans bouncing. I don't think Sunderlandor Fulham will want to come to Valley Parade."

City's 4-2 win at Chelsea - having been 2-0 down to the Premier League leaders - is already one of the cup's greatest upsets and another feather in the cap of manager Phil Parkinson.

The former Charlton boss oversaw Bradford's run to the League Cup final in 2013 and earlier this season took the scalp of Leeds in the same competition.

Lawn, though, is confident that his man will stay at the helm despite the interest he is likely to generate.

"He's got 18 months left to run and we don't want him to go anywhere," he added.

City last faced Sunderland back in December 2003, when they lost 3-0 with a side containing the likes of Wayne Jacobs and Dean Windass. Their last meeting with Fulham came further back in 1994, a 0-0 draw.

Bradford were not the only side to cause a shock at the weekend, with Middlesbrough's 2-0 win at Manchester City equally worthy of praise. Aitor Karanka's Championship high-flyers will now head to holders Arsenal, who beat Brighton on Sunday.

League Two Cambridge, who held Manchester United to a home draw, go to Old Trafford next week with the winners headed for a tie against Sheffield United or Preston. North End boss Simon Grayson has met Manchester United before, knocking them out while with Leeds.

Crystal Palace await the winners of the replay between Bolton and Liverpool, while Leicester and Aston Villa square off in a midlands derby. West Brom - victors over Birmingham - are at home to West Ham, who rode a storm against Bristol City on Sunday.

Blackburn lie in wait for last night's winners Stoke, while Steve McClaren's Derby v Reading wraps up the draw.

FA Cup draw

Crystal Palace v Liverpool/Bolton

Arsenal v Middlesbrough

Aston Villa v Leicester

West Brom v West Ham

Bradford v Sunderland/Fulham

Blackburn v Stoke City

Derby v Reading

Preston/Sheffield United v Cambridge/Manchester United

Ties to be played across the weekend of February 14 and 15


http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/fa-league-cups/bradford-chief-tips-another-famous-fa-cup-upset-30939784.html?

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Bradford City chief Mark Lawn fancies another Premier League scalp in FA Cup... that's why he's supporting Sunderland
Mark Lawn wants Bradford to repeat their heroics from Stamford Bridge
The Bantams upset Chelsea 4-2 in the last round of the FA Cup
Bradford have been drawn against either Sunderland or Fulham
Sunderland and Fulham face each other in a fourth-round replay next week

Bradford's co-chairman Mark Lawn is hoping Sunderland beat Fulham in their FA Cup replay to set up a fifth-round tie at Valley Parade.

Sunderland, famous giant-killers themselves from when they beat Leeds in the 1973 final, were held by Sky Bet Championship side Fulham in a goalless draw at the Stadium of Light on Saturday and the two sides will meet again next week.

Lawn, co-chairman Julian Rhodes and Bradford manager Phil Parkinson had all wanted to be paired with Manchester United after Saturday's stunning triumph over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.


Bradford City co-chairman Mark Lawn is hoping the club can claim another Premier League scalp


Bradford City's fourth-round win over Chelsea on Saturday was one of the biggest upsets in recent history


The Bantams' 4-2 win at Stamford Bridge has made them hungry to face more Premier League opposition

But Lawn had no complaints after Bradford were drawn to play either Sunderland or Fulham at home in Monday night's draw and has good reason to cheer on Gus Poyet's Black Cats in their replay.

'If we can't get Man United, Liverpool or Arsenal, let's have a home draw. It's up to us now,' Lawn said.

'We're the lowest-ranked team left in it, apart from Cambridge, and the odds are stacked against us, but let's give it our best shot.

'If we play like we did against Chelsea we will take some stopping.

'I would prefer Sunderland because of my mother. She was a Mackem. I lost her in 1993 and she was one of 13 children, so imagine how many cousins I've got!

'She moved down here just after the war and worked in Harry Ramsden's. That's where she met my dad.'


Sunderland were held to a 0-0 draw with Fulham in their fourth-round tie at the Stadium of Light


The Stadium of Light was at less than half capacity as Sunderland and Fulham both drew a blank


Gus Poyet's side are on a bad run of form and have won just two of their last 14 games in all competitions

League One side Bradford's 4-2 win at Chelsea is one of the biggest cup upsets of all time and follows just less than two years after Parkinson steered the West Yorkshire club on a fairytale journey to Wembley in the League Cup final.

Parkinson led the Bantams to promotion via the League Two play-off final later that season and although he was rewarded with a new three-year contract soon after, the club's latest cup exploits will inevitably lead to questions over his longer-term future.

'He's still got 18 months left on his contract so everyone can bugger off!' Lawn responded.

'It would have to be something very special to take him from here. His family live in the area and I'm sure they're all very happy here.

'That would end up being down to Phil, but of course we want to keep him.'


Bradford have performed well in recent cup competitions and reached the League Cup final in 2013


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2928095/Bradford-City-chairman-Mark-Lawn-wants-face-Sunderland-FA-Cup-fifth-round.html#ixzz3Q2ocVrdj
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Unsy Praises Resilient Blues

Under-21s coach David Unsworth was full of praise for his resilient Blues after they twice came from behind to draw 3-3 with Fulham.

A nightmare start gave the visiting Cottagers a 2-0 head start but David Henen and Joe Williams struck to level it up.

Fulham went back in front in the second half only for Jonjoe Kenny to stab home a late equaliser.

And the drama provided great entertainment for Unsworth who could not hide his pride at the character shown by his players.

He told evertontv: "I thought it was a terrific game and a terrific performance to come back the way we did after a poor start to give Fulham a two-goal lead. It was full of determination, guts, quality, real desire and that never-say-die attitude that, for me, epitomises an Everton player.

"They didn't know when they were beaten and that is the group we are working with. They have great quality but they also have great desire as well. When you are a coach and you stand on the side and you see that in your team, it's great. There is a real honesty about the group. I like what I saw against Fulham."

The game saw several eye-catching strikes, with Henen's the pick of the six and Unsworth was pleased to see aspects of training ground work filter through into match situations.

"I thought Fulham's goals were quality – they hit us on the counter attack twice and showed a real pace about their play," he added.

"But our goals were brilliant. The quality of the finishes for the first two then it is always nice to score from a set-piece for the third. A lot of stuff that we have been working on showed in the goals and that is always good to see.

"After a dodgy 15 minutes, to come back in that manner and playing the football that we did, it was great to watch."


http://www.evertonfc.com/news/2015/01/27/unsy-praises-resilient-blues?

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Fulham boss fancies Black Cats scalp in FA Cup replay

Fulham boss Kit Symons says he fancies his side to pull off a cup upset against Sunderland during their FA Cup replay and admits his disappointment in the draw against the Black Cats.

Fulham managed to keep the scores level up to half time, before a red card for Sunderland's Jack Rodwell gave Fulham an incentive to start attacking.

Jermaine Defoe missed various chances and Hugo Rodellega hit the post, denying either side an advantage.

Symons told the Sunderland Echo: "Before the game, I fancied us to win it, 11 v 11 I still fancied us to win it.

"And after the sending off you'll never have a better opportunity to beat a Premier League team away from home, but we'll play at Craven Cottage and I fancy us in that now.

"Our quality in the final third has been quite good in recent weeks, but it wasn't quite there today. We had a few opportunities, a few openings but our quality wasn't quite as good as it has been recently, so that was a little bit disappointing.

"But to come to a Premier League side and acquit yourself as we did, I think we should be very proud. So I'm a little bit disappointed but overall I'm very proud of my players – they put a real shift in for the club.

"I was confident before the game and I'm equally, if not more confident now, but also they're top-flight opposition, they've got some excellent players and I think they showed that when they went down to 10 men.

"So we won't be complacent and we won't take anything for granted and we'll show them the full respect they deserve in the replay."

Fulham have had a poor season in the Sky Bet Championship this year, but now under new manager Kit Symons they'll be looking to push up the table and perhaps make a late promotion push.

In the league, they beat Nottingham Forest 3-2 in their previous league game, thanks to a Ross McCormack hat-trick.

They're now sitting in 14th place in the Sky Bet Championship having accumulated 34 points.


http://footballleagueworld.co.uk/fulham-boss-fancies-black-cats-scalp-in-fa-cup-replay/?

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Fulham and Leeds? They are completely different: McCormack

Striker reckons the Whites have youth on their side


Three of a kind: McCormack completes a hat-trick against Forest
Ross McCormack reckons its chalk and cheese between the current Fulham squad and the Leeds set-up he championed last season.

The striker insists the similarity stops at their current mid table berth. Fulham has youth on its side, while Leeds supplied a battering ram to carve out 29 goals for the Scotland international last term.


Ross McCormack (R) celebrates with Matt Smith at Leeds
That hitman followed McCormack to Craven Cottage, but the best is yet to come from Matt Smith, currently enjoying a golden loan spell with Bristol City.

In the meanwhile, McCormack insists quality oozes out of the Whites set-up - one that will hopefully help add to the 10 goals he's notched so far including the hat-tick against Nottingham Forest last week. Enjoy here, the McCormack onslaught.

He added: "If you look at the league table Fulham and Leeds are similar, but with two different styles.

"Last season, I was up front with big Matty Smith and he was a great foil for me. He took the hits, and I just walked around."

The last comment had a bit of tongue in cheek, but the forward was deadly serious about the talent at the disposal of Whites boss Kit Symons.

"You look around the squad against Forest and you had Bryan Ruiz on the bench, Cauley Woodrow on the bench, along with Patrick Roberts, George Williams, who've all got big futures," he added.

Fulham were rock-bottom in August, but were reborn under Symons and need just three wins and a draw for a play-off berth.

McCormack was second-half sub in the FA Cup tie draw at Sunderland at the weekend nursing a slight Achilles injury, but is pencilled in for a start at Blackburn on Saturday as Fulham return to Championship action.

However, the canny Scot is less than an enamoured by talk of an instant return to the Premier League.

"It's a bit premature to start talking about play-offs," he cautioned. "The minute that happens you get battered the next game. It's the old cliche - we'll take each game as it comes."


http://www.getwestlondon.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/fulham-leeds-completely-different-mccormack-8526640?

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Burn's Contract Extension

The Club can confirm that Dan Burn's contract has been extended by a year, keeping him at Fulham until the summer of 2016.

"I am here for another year and I am very happy about it," Burn told fulhamfc.com. "The Club is going in the right direction. We're playing well, we look solid as a team and we're scoring goals. Hopefully it will continue and we can push towards the Play-Offs."

The tall centre-back joined the Whites in the summer of 2011 from Conference side Darlington, making his First Team debut in the FA Cup tie with Norwich City on 4th January 2014.

This season Burn became a regular starter under Kit Symons, but has recently been competing with current first choice centre-backs Nikolay Bodurov and Shaun Hutchinson for a starting berth.

"The good thing now is that we have strong competition for places in every position," said Burn. "It makes training that little bit more intense because everyone's trying to show their worth.

"Obviously it's hard because you want to play every game but you just have to keep working hard, keep morale up and be ready for the chance when it comes."


http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2015/january/27/burn-contract-extension?

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Eredivisie trio chasing Fulham youngster

According to Voetbal International, Fulham midfielder Chris David is attracting interest from Eredivisie trio FC Twente, Dordrecht and Cambuur.

The 21-year-0ld Dutchman was seen as a bright young talent in the Twente youth ranks before moving to join Martin Jol's Fulham in 2013, despite reported interest from Ajax. However David has failed to make an impression for the English side.

David made five appearances for the Championship side this season before the sacking of coach Felix Magath, and since then the former Netherlands U19 international has failed to impress new boss Kit Symons.

Dordrecht, Cambuur and former club Twente are all monitoring the situation in the hope that they can grab the young talent on a free transfer, while there is also interest from other foreign clubs according to VI.



http://www.football-oranje.com/eredivisie-trio-chasing-fulham-youngster/?

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Dan Burn: Fulham centre-back extends contract until 2016

Fulham defender Dan Burn has signed a one-year extension to his contract with the Championship club.

The 22-year-old centre-back, who has scored two goals in 17 appearances this season, will now remain at Craven Cottage until the summer of 2016.

Burn, who started his career at Darlington, has had loan spells at Yeovil and Birmingham since joining the Whites in summer 2011.

"I am very happy about it. The club is going in the right direction," he said.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/31003448

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Captain reacts to cup draw

Defender focussed on Fulham test.

John O'Shea is looking forward to next week's FA Cup replay against Fulham.

The Black Cats travel to Craven Cottage knowing that a win would set up a fifth-round tie against Bradford City at Valley Parade, with the Bantams progressing thanks to a stunning comeback at Stamford Bridge against cup favourites Chelsea.

Speaking to safc.com O'Shea praised Bradford following their fourth-round exploits, but the Republic of Ireland defender refused to look any further than Tuesday's replay against the Cottagers.

"People will look at Bradford City and how they were the big giant-killers from the last round against Chelsea, and it was obviously amazing for them to come from 2-0 down and win.

"They will be happy with a home draw but first and foremost we have a tough away game against Fulham, so hopefully we can progress but it is going to be difficult."

He added: "The teams in the lower leagues have already shown how strong they can be, but as I said first off we have to take care of Fulham and we look forward to that."


http://www.safc.com/news/team-news/2015/january/oshea-reacts-to-cup-draw?

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John O'Shea warns Sunderland not to get distracted by Bradford City tie

Sunderland captain John O'Shea has warned his team-mates they cannot think about facing Bradford City in the FA Cup until they have disposed of Fulham

John O'Shea has warned Sunderland they cannot be distracted by the possibility of taking on Bradford City in the FA Cup.

The Black Cats were paired with the League One Bantams in this week's fifth round draw.

In theory it gives them a great chance of reaching the quarter-finals, although Bradford's 4-2 victory at Stamford Bridge might suggest otherwise.

But O'Shea has warned such thoughts must be put to the back of Sunderland minds with a difficult replay over Fulham to negotiate first.

"People will look at Bradford City and how they were the big giant-killers from the last round against Chelsea, and it was obviously amazing for them to come from 2-0 down and win," captain O'Shea told his club's official website.

"They will be happy with a home draw but first and foremost we have a tough away game against Fulham, so hopefully we can progress but it is going to be difficult.

"The teams in the lower leagues have already shown how strong they can be, but as I said first off we have to take care of Fulham and we look forward to that."

Sunderland were fortunate to escape with a 0-0 draw at home to Fulham last week after having Jack Rodwell sent off for two bookable offences after 66 minutes. The Championship side had the best chance of the game, Hugo Rodallega striking the post after 87 minutes.

The sides replay at Craven Cottage on Tuesday.

That is one of four matches for the Wearsiders before any possible fifth-round tie, starting with Saturday's Premier League visit of Burnley.

Sunderland are one of only ten Premier League sides still in this season's FA Cup. They reached last season's quarter-finals, losing to eventual runners-up Hull City, but played at Wembley in the League Cup final, where they were beaten by Manchester City.

Meanwhile, they have been linked with a move for former Arsenal defender Emmanuel Eboue.

Coach Gustavo Poyet said earlier this month that striker Jermain Defoe would probably be the club's one and only signing of the winter transfer window.

But Eboue is a free agent having been released by Galatasaray, and is thought to be keen on a return to the Premier League.

Before Defoe's signing, Poyet's other big concern about his squad was the lack of options at full-back, and now he has switched to a wing-back system the group is looking particularly thin in that area.

Billy Jones and Patrick van Aanholt are the only real wing-backs in the squad, though winger Will Buckley can also fill in there, and did as a substitute in Saturday's FA Cup tie. Anthony Reveillere is a right-back by trade, but looks better suited to a central defensive role in the 3-5-2 formation Poyet has implemented to bring the best out of Defoe.

The 31-year-old, who can play at right-back or on the right of midfield, left Arsenal for Turkey in 2011, but his contract was cancelled this month having not featured since April.

He was left out of the Ivory Coast squad for the African Cup of Nations.


http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/john-oshea-warns-sunderland-not-8529173?